cannabisnews.com: School Raid Raises Questions About Drug War School Raid Raises Questions About Drug War Posted by CN Staff on November 16, 2003 at 08:27:33 PT By Tony Bartelme Of The Post and Courier Staff Source: Post and Courier It's 6:45 a.m. Nov. 5 at Stratford High School, Berkeley County's largest high school, home of the Knights. Two teenage girls walk side by side down a spotless hallway, backpacks bouncing on their backs. On either side, groups of boys gather next to their lockers, talking. Suddenly, as the two girls near the end of the hallway, three police officers dash into view. Their guns are drawn. One officer rushes toward a boy, who instantly sinks to the ground. Two other officers charge into a group of boys. The two girls with the backpacks are caught in the commotion, and they fall to the floor as well. Two surveillance cameras, two of 70 at the school, record it all. A few seconds have passed.Students at the other end of the hall look to see what's going on. More officers race from behind, catching these students off guard. One muscular officer with a military haircut wrestles a boy in a sweatshirt to the ground, knocking over a student in a ROTC uniform. Officers sweep down the hall. One officer holds his gun in both hands, swinging it back and forth like a metronome.The drug dogs come six minutes later, sniffing at backpacks a few feet away from students who are still lying on the ground, some with their hands over their faces. About 12 are restrained with plastic handcuffs.Then comes the revelation that no drugs were found, followed later by the outrage, and the calls for the resignations of the principal and the Goose Creek police chief. The raid makes international headlines, and almost as quickly as the police burst into the hallway, Stratford High becomes to many a symbol of something gone wrong in the battle to keep drugs out of schools.What happened that morning has raised questions about searching students with guns drawn and the proper use of drug-sniffing dogs. It also has raised deeper questions:Is the drug problem so bad in our schools that it requires such draconian measures? And, when it comes to keeping schools drug free, where should administrators and police draw the line? HOW BAD IS THE PROBLEM? In recent years, more and more schools have installed surveillance cameras and acquired "school resource officers." Drug sweeps with brief "lockdowns" have become nearly routine at some schools.These measures come as drug use has declined among high school students, according to national studies.In fact, today's students use marijuana and cocaine less frequently than many of their parents did when they were in high school.A National Institute for Drug Abuse study said annual illicit drug use by high school seniors peaked at 54 percent in 1979. Now it hovers at about 40 percent.Statewide, an estimated one in four high school students had used marijuana in the past month, according to a 2001 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, the latest statistics available. Roughly 7 percent had tried cocaine, while 12 percent had sniffed or inhaled intoxicating substances.School drug crime statistics also are revealing. In Charleston County's school district, which has more than 41,000 students, officials reported only 81 drug possession and related cases in 2002. Berkeley County reported 47; Dorchester District 2 had 59.Despite these relatively low numbers, "we're not so naive to think that there's no drug use in our schools," said Mike Windham, Dorchester 2's director of community relations. "We know it's happening. And we have to do what we can to keep drugs out of schools, and sometimes there's a fine line."While drug use among teens may be declining, school administrators and criminologists say the culture of guns and violence that rose with the cocaine trade in the 1980s added a level of anxiety among students and administrators. The 1999 shootings at Columbine High School ratcheted up fears even more."I think about Columbine every day," Windham said. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/schoolraid.htmSource: Post and Courier, The (Charleston, SC)Author: Tony Bartelme Of The Post and Courier Staff Published: Sunday, November 16, 2003Copyright: 2003 Evening Post Publishing Co.Website: http://www.charleston.net/Contact: letters postandcourier.comRelated Articles:Rally Supports Goose Creek Principal http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17802.shtmlScore One For The Good Guyshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17787.shtmlStratford Raid Criticized, Praised http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17779.shtmlJust Say No To Gun-Wielding Cops in Schoolhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17778.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by Jose Melendez on November 17, 2003 at 03:14:13 PT no conceivable benefit? from:http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/books/dudewheresmycountry.html"Moore also reveals that he does not believe all unions are a good thing, and that drugs have no conceivable benefit, although he still strongly opposes the failed War on Drugs." [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by john wayne on November 17, 2003 at 01:40:15 PT so what? So there's outrage. You can bet that if even one joints worth of pot had been found, the chorus would be singing "whatever's necessary to save our children".Will the "outrage" stop the next storm-trooper raid on a school?Will funds for school-aimed SWAT equipment and programs be cut? (You can bet that funds for SCHOOL will be cut.)Will the ceaseless TV swill showing heroic heavily armed police bursting in on "druggies" diminish?I think you know the answer to those questions.By the way, Jose, Michael Moore says that the right wing was right on "drugs" all along and we should all fall into line. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Jose Melendez on November 16, 2003 at 11:00:17 PT " . . . sometimes there's a fine line."" I'm suprised we have not heard much from Michael Moore . . .http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/ [ Post Comment ] Post Comment